The Little Ponies
by fictionbrony
Summary: A thousand years ago, Nightmare Moon cast a curse on a group of families which shrunk them all down to about the size of half an apple. Now in the present, there are only two left, but how will they cope being the last? This is the story of legend of the Little Ponies.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** **Hi readers! This is my new story and second one so far! Hope you like the first chapter! Once again saying, not normal internet, so posting might not happen that often… Read and Rate! If you read, please review so other ponies like you will be able to find it easier! All criticism is welcome, especially negative because I like hearing what I am doing wrong! Enjoy chapter one. Peace :P**

**P.S. Revisions! This chapter is my fifth attempt(second I've posted) at the first chapter! I really hope it's better... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: The Little Ponies**

"Starlight! Stop! You're killing him!" Dex screamed at Starlight. I could barely hear the muffled words that he cried through everything I was going through. There was a simple order of the jungle here in Starlight's house; The smallest and weakest are on the bottom, and the largest and strongest are on top. Unfortunately, me and Dex, Dex and I, whatever doesn't matter, are the smallest. I don't mean like a runty small like some colts are, in our case it's something completely different. I understand all the younger siblings getting picked on by older ones and that kind of stuff, but Starlight isn't related to me by any means (Thank Celestia I might add).

Starlight was my brother and I's caretaker assigned by Princess Celestia. Here's a good question: Why do two fully grown stallions need caretaking? Well I'll tell you. About a thousand years ago, my ancestors were living their peaceful, normal lives, but one day all of this nonsense started. Princess Luna, who was so jealous of her sister's day and how everypony loved her while her own night was ignored, transformed into an evil beast; Nightmare Moon. Rampaging across the countryside in an agitated frenzy, Nightmare Moon stumbled across my family and neighbors families hosting a dinner party and having a great time. My family's founder, my great-great-great-great-great-some more greats-great grandpony, was a powerful unicorn, taught by Princess Celestia herself, and he thought he could stop Nightmare Moon. Being a powerful alicorn sister and all, she easily defeated him, but seeing one of her own subjects rise against her, she was infuriated beyond the point of mercy. Before smashing him beyond recognition, Nightmare Moon cast this dreadful curse on my family and the neighbor's families. A curse, no big deal right? Wrong, the curse she put on our families was a really small curse. Another point, why would such a tiny-weeny, smidgen of a curse be bad? Well, I meant it when I said a _small curse_.

The families, including my ancestors, were all shrunk down to the size of about half an apple, small enough to be swallowed whole, stepped on, eaten by small predators, eaten by _bigger _predators, crushed, and a lot of other brutal deaths that've happened over the years I really don't want to mention. Probably the only reason we survived this long was because of Celestia and the caretakers.

Too many of us died in the first few months of our shared ailment, so the remaining Princess came up with a way for us to be protected from our environments. She founded the caretakers. Caretakers are really just glorified foal-sitters in truth. Princess Celestia would give one or two siblings to each caretaker so that they could protect the fragile lives of my family. Some caretakers were nice and did their job well, but others… I won't finish that.

Also, in addition to the caretakers, she made sure to give each of us a magical protection which helps us grow stronger and be more resilient to pressure. The spell was the strongest the Princess could muster on each of us, but is still breakable. After all, a spell made on something small is made small itself.

Even with all these factors, the family still died out slowly. Dex and I were orphaned when he was seven, and I was five. Mom was one of the nicest ponies you would ever meet, but most ponies never knew she existed. Her caretaker was a high official and snooty Canterlot snob. He would never take her anywhere in fear that it might ruin his social status, so she was scorned as a burden, and so were we. He ended up killing her when she was seen by one of his associates. To cover up his slip, he pretended she was a mouse and he was heroically saving his mansion and guests from the vermin infesting it. Poor mom... I can at least say he never walked free again...

Over time, the families that Celestia entrusted with caretaking corrupted, leaving us in a difficult position. In fact, I think Dex and I are the last ones left. The last "Little Ponies" of legend and pretty soon, it would be just Dex.

A purple, earth pony mare named Starlight was our caretaker. At first it was her cranky, old grandma, but after she passed from old age, we were inherited by her. I don't think she wanted to take care of us, because really, being a caretaker is a burden. Princess Celestia was oblivious to the fact that she didn't want to help us; caretaking is supposedly an honor. However, Starlight wasn't one of the nice caretakers I mentioned before, so Dex and I learned to fear from her. If you broke a rule, something bad would happen to you, if you tried to escape, same thing, if you disobeyed, same thing, and most importantly, if you tried to tell the _Princess,_ this would happen.

"Get off him! He can't breathe!" Dex continued yelling at Starlight, but to no effect.

I struggled and screamed under her bulk, but she would not budge, and I had broken the number one rule.

"Quiet you!" Starlight yelled back," Or I might just have to snuff out you once I'm finished with Shrink here!" My name is Shrink, Shrinking Thunder, sort of ironic name for my condition, but my parents wouldn't change it for the world. "It's cute!" they said, I didn't believe them. Besides, it doesn't matter that much anymore.

In my monthly letter to the Princess, I tried, well Dex tried, to tell her that Starlight was not what she seemed, but Starlight's expert eyes spotted his secret message. I took the blame, and now I was being punished.

"I told both of you!" she continued,"If you tried to tattle on me, you would get it! I'm not getting up until Shrink is DEAD! You hear me! D, E, A, **D**!"

"But," Dex started.

"NO! I warned you! And if you tell the Princess what really happened here, then I'll crush you flatter than the letter paper you would write on!" Starlight cut him off.

By now, I was running out of air. Dex was continuing to argue and ran over to where I was trapped. My hoof was sticking out from under the massive lump of pony, and Dex rushed to try and help. I felt somepony tugging on my hoof, but I still didn't know what was taking place outside. All of a sudden, the pulling stopped, and I began to panic. I could tell Starlight flicked Dex across the room for trying to help me.

She really wasn't going to get off me this time, I was going to die here underneath her. The only hope I had was that the Princess would get worried her monthly report was a few days late for the first time ever. There was no where else to turn, so I hoped Celestia would figure it out. The truth is, I don't really care what happens to me, I'm worried what will happen to Dex when I'm gone.

We've both been through a lot, and I don't know if he could take another loss. So far, we've been lucky enough. Dex hasn't had many accidents which is pretty good for our size. I can't say the same thing about me however, I've been through so many injuries that it's a miracle that I'm still alive.

I couldn't die now. I was needed, and so I fought every last strained breath with a zealous attitude, wishing for the best.

Dex was crying, I hated when he cried. The only time he ever cried like he was now was when we were told Mom was dead. The only thing I could think of, was stay alive for him. Several minutes went by, each slowing down the longer I was under here. I felt free from life, detached from everything and floating by in the darkness.

I began to pass out from the lack of oxygen, but I sorta felt... Nice... As I passed sluggishly into the void, my mind wandered to other, not important thoughts. What most ponies don't know is that being suffocated under something heavy is that breathing is immensely hard, but not impossible. It adds an extra minute or so to the time you have to live and let die. I had no idea why I thought of this at the current time, seems like a waste, but there's nothing I could do about it now. Drifting in a sea of darkness, I smiled at my bad trivia and closed my eyes.

I awoke slowly in a vast, cloudy expanse colored only with shadows and light. The pressure on top of me disappeared, freeing my limbs and allowing movement once more. Surprisingly, I felt strangely calm with regards to what happened, or is happening? The serenity of the landscape was breathtaking, and I had never felt so alive and alert! But then again, was I dead?

The shadows shifted across the fog bringing whispers and murmurs along with them. They were easily audible, but for some reason I couldn't understand the words.

"Hello?" I called out hoping for an answer. The talking intensified slightly upon hearing my shout and the shadows flickered around me. I could feel other ponies near me, that was certain, but I couldn't find them as I wandered aimlessly.

Ahead, there was a clearing in the fog with a small glow being emitted from the center. Inching closer, the murmurs in the distance became understandable for a brief second. I thought I heard in the wind,"Do not be afraid my son. Go back to where you are from, it is not your time yet..."

The voice tickled a memory inside my head of when I was only a little colt.

"Mom?" I asked nopony, but I received no response. The expanse faded around me gently, but quick and soon enough, I was back under Starlight running out of air.

The fear returned as soon as I wrapped my head around what just happened. Did I see Mom? Where was I? The sound of Dex crying reached me again. Did I mention that I hated that? I focused on the sound of his sobs and resumed fighting.

The sound of the door bursting open broke my concentration and I lost my breath in surprise. Luckily for me, Starlight jumped up, seemingly scared at something. I gasped for air and started coughing violently, still laying in the area I had been pinned. Dex rushed over to my side and hugged me tighter than he ever had before.

"Thank Celestia! It's a miracle! Oh," Dex cheered still squeezing me to death.

"It won't be a miracle in a second if you don't loosen your grip." I managed to wheeze through Dex's bear hug.

I was bombarded with questions from Dex until I heard a powerful voice I knew so well.

"Prin, uh, princess Celestia! Wh, what are you d, doing here? Starlight stammered panicky.

"Starlight Meteor," Celestia said in an angry voice,"what is going on here?"

"Um, I, uh..." She squeaked holding her ears down and trembling.

"Have you been abusing your powers as a caretaker?" Celestia stated with a icy fury in her eyes.

I didn't think Starlight could get any lower at the moment. One of the things that the Princess hated most was corruption.

Princess Celestia came closer pinning Starlight to the wall with her gaze.

"You are now relieved of all of your caretaker duties along with any contact with these two. Also, I hereby charge you with attempted murder and abuse accounts. Your trial will begin in a week at noon, and if you even put a hoof out of line, I will take it upon myself to banish you to the moon."

"Bu, but I..." stammered Starlight in response.

The Princess turned around to exit signaling Dex and I to come with her. Dex helped me walk along as we too left the room. I was very surprised Princess Celestia didn't blow her stack and pummel Starlight, but I was free from her reign! Before we got to the door, however, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Starlight lean over to her desk and grab a dictionary. She was mad, her life was ruined by us and that filled her with a cold, merciless fury that could only be quenched by achieving her goal: killing us. Whirling around, she threw the heavy book at Dex and I, but Dex had no idea what was happening behind him! I took the heat for the second time this hour. I pushed him to safety out of range of the tome, but was unable to escape myself. Frozen in place, I muttered a small, "Eep," widening my eyes as the projectile reached its destination.

With a thundering crash, the dictionary knocked me over, and crushed my front left leg and shoulder underneath its volume. The first sensation was not one of pain, but only a limp, deadened feeling like my entire leg wasn't there. I began to unscrunch after realizing I wasn't dead. "Woah," I said as I examined the wound. Dex looked in shock still sitting in the place I pushed him to. Slowly as to not damage anything more than it already was, I brought my other hoof to my leg and touched it.

Boy was that a stupid idea. I screamed in pain with tears flowing out my eyes as the feeling came back to life. Celestia spun around, but she was too late to catch the book before it fell. Instead she fired a golden beam of energy directly at Starlight hitting her with the force of three or more times than the full amount a normal unicorn could produce. Starlight crashed into the wall behind her breaking a large hole leading straight through two walls into her bedroom, but the damage was already done. I lay there oozing in a puddle of my blood on the floor while the others rushed to my aid. Dex threw himself into my field of vision with a face which relayed shock and guilt.

I smiled back at him with a look that said it was for the best. He didn't agree. Blood loss had me in a headlock now, and I slowly faded into unconsciousness in the presence of the two ponies I loved the most. One thing I thought about before the inevitable was that Dex was safer now. I could now sleep peacefully for a while until I either woke up, or not.

Luckily for me, life choose the later.

**~A Fictionbrony certified revision. You're welcome, I mean, if you're okay with that... :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** **Hello Dear readers, and welcome to Chapter 2 of The Little Ponies! I got positive reviews on the first chapter, so I am thinking it is a good idea to continue this story. I am writing live from VEGAS BABY, YEAH! Woo, so yeah, Vegas.**

**Well, quietly applauding myself at least. Anyway, Shrink is dying slowly, what will happen next!? You'll find out, IF, you read this chapter!** (Hotel internet is expensive o.o!) **Please Read and Review!**

**Chapter 2: The Nightmare Returns**

_Third Person_

"Why did you not inform me of this Dex?" Princess Celestia said softly as to not upset him anymore than he already was.

He replied shakily,"This would happen. She threatened to kill us…and I, I…"

"It's alright Dex, the doctor said we got him here on time. He's going to be okay," Celestia comforted.

"The doctor said he _might_ be okay!" Dex yelled at Celestia,"He also said he might lose his leg! How can anypony live like that! He… he," Dex started sobbing. Celestia was taken aback. She had no idea how much stress her little ones had been containing all these years.

She picked Dex up in her forehooves and hugged him lightly, burying his tears in her chest. "He'll be fine, I promise. He's been hurt before and recovered, so he will be fine Dex," she said bringing Dex out of her hug.

"It's never been this bad before…" Dex whimpered.

"I know my little one. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best. I'm sorry Dexter, but it's all we can do for him," Princess Celestia said while her heart ripped in half for one of the ponies she tried the hardest to protect, and failed.

"Can I at least see him?" Dex asked tearily.

"Sure," the Princess replied.

She carried him over to the door and turned the handle with her magic. "Take as long as you need, I'll be right here," Celestia said.

Dex eagerly flew off Celestia's back and landed next to Shrink, making only a small depression on the bedsheets. "I'm here Thun, and I'm not leaving until you get better," Dex said in tears next to his sleeping brother, "I'm not leaving… Not for the world…"

Shrink smiled slightly in his comatic state after hearing his brother's words.

Dex smiled in return. "You can leave Princess," Dex called out to her, "I'm going to be here for a while."

Princess Celestia smiled seeing his reaction and slowly shut the door behind her. When it was all the way closed, her features darkened and she said with malice, "Now for Starlight…"

_Three Months later_

_Shrink's POV_

"SHRINK! ARE YOU AWAKE YET!?" Dex shouted in my ear, startling me out of my usual dreams. He kept his promise, Dex never left my side except for when the doctors had to do surgery.

"Ugh, I groaned from exhaustion and pain. "Five more minutes Dex, I'm tired this morning…"

He remained silent which I misinterpreted he was giving me some more time to rest, so I drifted back off into fantasy land for a while more. What seemed like as soon as I fell back asleep, something tickled my ear. I ignored it, because I could at this point, and continued sleeping. However, the sensation intensified bringing me back into reality. "What is that?" I mumbled, groaning while still half asleep.

I opened my eyes to see another pair right in front of mine. "AAAAAHHHH!" I screamed jumping away in terror. Dex burst out laughing as I fell over a lump in the sheets. I tumbled down into a small, blankety crevice and finally landed at the bottom creating a dulled "thump!" My ear, even after falling, still had the feeling residing inside. I touched it gingerly with my non-injured hoof only to stick it in a wet, goopy substance. I quickly pulled my hoof away and shook it off freaking out a bit. "Eww! Dex! What did you do to my ear?" I started to rub my head on the mattress.

"Not important, but you're awake now!" Dex said still laughing his tail off. I grew mad.

"I told you to stop doing that Dex! The falling hurt!" I steamed.

Dex immediately stopped laughing and rushed over to my side. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…Is it okay?" He stammered with a look of concern on his face.

"Yes, it's fine Dex. Sorry, I didn't mean to yell." I sighed now that the event had passed.

Dex didn't look satisfied with my answer. "Are you sure? All I want is for you to turn out a-okay, you know that right?" He said.

"I know Dex, it's really fine, thanks." I said cooling down. We both sat there for a while listening to the loud beep of heart rate monitor with its' small extension clipped onto me.

"Today's the trial…" I said finally breaking the silence.

"You shouldn't go... you're still healing," Dex suggested softly.

"What!? But, I don't want you to go alone! Please?" I complained.

"No, you're not going, I can't put you through that right now…" Dex gave me his puppy dog eyes.

"But what about you?" I asked.

"I'll be fine. Princess Celestia will be there too," Dex reasoned .

"Alright, but tell me how it goes when you get back, kay?" I said.

"Promise," Dex replied. And then he stood up and flew out of the room.

I watched him land on a nearby desk and stand waiting by the door. When it finally opened, an official looking pony entered dressed in his formal attire. Dex flew up close to the pony's view and started explaining where he needed to go. After a while, the two came to an agreement and left me on the bed, alone for the first time in three months.

Sometimes I envied Dex for his wings, they made things so much _easier _for him. I am an earth pony of course, hardest of the three to live while shrunken. In fact, I think I'm the first one to survive this long ever since my great-great-grandpony Grandpo Jones. At least Dex is nice about it and flies me around places when I need to do something, but it's not the same as it would be if I had wings myself. One thing I've learned from being small is that teamwork is not optional.

I sighed and laid back down where I was before I was so rudely awakened. Dex will tell me all about the trial, but the truth was, I didn't want to know. Starlight still gave me nightmares whenever I thought too long about her. My life was royally screwed at the moment. The doctor's news would have been to much to handle if Dex wasn't there for support. I frowned in guilt, I still haven't told him why I haven't fully healed yet.

My mind raced around some random, yet connected thoughts as I wondered what I could do. Finally drifting off to sleep once more, I got some well deserved rest. My dreams were conflicted however, for I held the largest secret ever, and Dex could never find out.

_Three Months later...again…_

_Day of the Summer Sun Celebration_

"What do you mean we have to split up?!" Dex and I both yelled shocked at a stressed looking Celestia. By now I had healed enough Celestia had considered about where we would go next.

"I'm sorry you two, but you're too vulnerable together. How did Starlight threaten you to stop you from contacting me?" Celestia explained.

"By saying she would kill the other," we moaned in defeat. She was right, but I couldn't leave Dex! He was my everything, I couldn't live without him!

"But Princess Celestia! I can't live without Dex!" I complained to her.

"I'm sorry, but you know I'm right. I'm taking you both to Ponyville to see if we can find one of you a new caretaker," She concluded.

"But," Dex started.

"No buts, get your things ready, we'll be leaving soon. I'm busy for the summer sun celebration at the moment," Celestia cut him off. She exited the room reading a letter from her student Twilight.

Dex and I solemnly left the room as close together as possible, getting ready for the inedible. We were going to be separated today at midnight.

"Dex, I don't want to leave you…" I slowly said to him.

"I know, but she is right," Dex said disappointed.

"Just because it's right doesn't make it the right thing to do! It's not our fault, it was just who we were with!" I complained loudly.

Celestia walked the room without hearing our conversation. "Are you ready, I wish to get there before the celebration." She saw my pouty expression and her mood changed, "I'm sorry you two, but it's for the best… I don't mean to sound pushy, please forgive my tone."

"Princess, can't you find somepony to take both of us?" asked Dex.

Princess Celestia said,"If somepony is willing to take both of you, depending on who it is I might change my mind."

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"If you were somepony else, the answer would be no, but I can't stand to see you sad," Celestia replied warmly.

I smiled slightly, there was still the possibility! "Okay, let's go then," I said.

"Come on," Princess Celestia said, "We're not going to make it to Ponyville any time soon at this rate."

I started walking alongside her and Dex in a slightly better mood than earlier, but I was confused. Princess Celestia still seemed stressed. Maybe it was because she was busy, but I had seen her on past celebration days and she was never this nervous. I shrugged it off, I had more important things on my mind today.

_The Chariot a little while later…_

Flying is pretty fun actually now that I think about it. Dex and I were now in the royal sun chariot on our way to see the celebration first hoof. In the chariot along with us was the Princess of course, a few guards, and some cosmetologist ponies. The pegasi flying the chariot were making good time due to the amazingly clear skies , so we would be permitted to explore Ponyville a bit before experiencing the Summer Sun Celebration.

The Princess joined in on some of Dex and my's conversations, but remained in her stressed demeanor for some reason. So instead of talking with her, we talked with the captain of the guards.

"Hi, whatcha doing?" Dex flew over and started talking to the tall, white pony.

"Oh, hello. You must be the two stallions I'm supposed to protect today. The Princess said you were two very special ones, but didn't tell me you were quite this… special," the guard said. He looked embarrassed for a second and then apologised, "I'm sorry, that was a bit rude… My name is Shining Armor but you can call me Shining."

I climbed up onto one of the seats after some struggle and joined the conversation. "Hi, I'm the second one," I said.

We talked some more until the chamber bounced violently and we stopped.

"What was that?" Shining yelled running to investigate the scene along with some other guards. The Princess looked around with a worried and, sad? face before standing up to check herself. Ponies rushed around us in swarms wondering what was happening, chattering in groups and complaining. I heard some yells from outside the door to the room mixed with screams of fear at something. A dark mist filled the room, and the door burst open in a strong gust of wind.

Chaos struck, ponies ran and screamed everywhere nearly trampling us in the process. A body flew through the door nearly landing on Dex, but instead hitting another guard sending them both to the ground. It was Shining Armor.

Fear coursed through my veins as a dark, polished hoof stepped calmly through the opening, the pony responsible for my curse had returned. I fell down next to Dex and crawled backwards in fear.

"Sister, we have returned! Behold our mighty powers!" Nightmare yelled picking up a pegasus using her magic. She then threw the screaming pony out the window to whatever lay on the outside.

"Nightmare Moon, leave these ponies alone, they are innocent. Take me instead, I am the one who banished you, or have you forgotten?" Celestia said determined.

"Ah, yes," Nightmare Moon said ignoring Princess Celestia and looking at us smiling, "Ah, some of my little ponies, I see some of you have survived all these years, but not for long." She gripped me with her magic bringing me closer. I struggled and dragged my hooves against the floor to the chariot but to no avail.

Princess Celestia intervened, "Sister, stop, Please! If you hurt him I will,"

"You'll what? Banish me again? HA! You don't have the Elements of Harmony with you, and even they can't defeat me now!" Nightmare Moon cut her off. She brought me up to her giant eyes and looked me over. I breathed heavily in fear and tried to escape once more. She seemed unimpressed at me then asked ," Are you the current generation, I thought you would be better. Pitiful... How many of you are left? I can only see you here so there must be fewer."

"I… I… I'm the… I…"I stammered with wide eyes while thinking heavily. She didn't see Dex! He was safe!

She tightened her magic around me making the air rush out of my lungs. "I said speak bug!" she yelled.

I came up with my answer. "I… I'm the last of my kind. They're all gone," I replied shakily to her answer. I wasn't lying, I _was _the last small earth pony.

Shaking me around she yelled," That's a lie!"

Princess Celestia spoke up seeing my plan," It's true sister, they're all gone. He is the last."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dex fly out of the broken window and hide. I silently hoped he would escape unharmed. He turned and looked at me for a few seconds with a dismayed expression and reached out a hoof in my direction. I nudged my head signalling for him to leave, and after a while of internal conflict, he unwillingly left.

Nightmare Moon seemed disappointed. "I'll have to make more once I'm finished with you then," she said looking at me again, " Earth Pony eh? Have fun."

My eyes widened and I took a large breath as she prepared to do something with me.

"Nightmare! Don't you dare!" Celestia yelled from across the room.

She smiled at me, and then threw me out the window into open space. I screamed as the world rushed by and the chariot disappeared above me. Looking down, I saw we were still in the air when all that was happening and I fell.

I learned how to fall correctly from my mother when she saw I was an earth pony. Even though she was a pegasus, she still fell with me to try and teach me if I ever needed it. She was right to, but this fall was a bit larger than the ones I was used to. I got into position even though I was still scared and made myself as large as possible to create as much wind resistance as I could.

Luckily, Dex was out here too. He caught me around my waist from above causing me to jerk forward as we slowed down. We reached the ground away from the battle above us. We could see flashes of light where the two alicorns dueled, but then it stopped. Dex and I didn't know who won at first, but Nightmare Moon flew out of the chariot looking triumphant and I knew what happened.

Dex and I were now in a forest alone, with no idea where we were, no help, and no Princess.

**E/N** **There you have it! So how was it? Writing everything and transitioning the timeframes was a bit hard, because I didn't want to make the sections too short, but wanted to keep the story at a decent pace. Plus I would like to thank anypony who has reviewed so far(I have two at the moment :) thx). Chapter three is going to be a real page turner though, so if you liked this chapter, the next one will be even better! Peace**

**~Fictionbrony**

**Another revision! Better than the first!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hello once more my readers. Hoping to develop the plot a bit more at this point and make things flow a bit smoother together, but I think it's going pretty well right now! Two chapters down, who knows how many to go? Plus, I have a week off from school so chapters should be more plentiful. Warning! Longish Chapter! Enjoy :) **

**P.S. Thank you very much Farming 101, your latest review made me laugh for at least ten minutes straight. So, here is some more big, scary, forestry things XD.**

**P.P.S Also thanks to Raritylover11, snowflake, and spookywonky (I haven't forgotten you)**

**Chapter 3: Alone **

The chariot flew away above us at a frenzied pace. They obviously wanted to get away from danger as fast as possible. I could still hear screaming as they flew by, and a feeling of dread spread over me like a blanket.

Dex was trying to tell me something, but it was fuzzy. All I could do was gape at what happened and wonder what would be next. The Princess, our protector, was gone.

"Shrink! Snap out of it! We're in danger!" Dex yelled finally snapping me out of my daze. He continued, "The sun is setting! And from what I can tell, we're in the Everfree Forest! Are you listening to me?"

I shook my head a few times and tried to grasp what just happened. "Wha? Sorry what were you saying... I'm still not over what just happened up there," I said, still confused.

Dex switched to a softer tone, "Are you okay? She threw you pretty hard..."

Dex, I realized, saved me from falling to my doom. I wrapped my forelegs around him tightly until his face turned from it's normal, dark brown color into a more blue hue.

"Uh... Shrink... Can't breathe," he managed to squeak out. I let him go and he fell to the ground gasping air.

"Sorry... you saved me. Yeah, I'm feeling fine now." I stretched my back and looked around. "What's wrong with you?" I said seeing Dex breathing deeply.

"Ah, pant, ooh," he wheezed, "I'm better now, please don't do that again. I won't be able to take it."

"Okay, so what were you saying? What's wrong other than everything Nightmare Moon did up there?"

Dex went back to his panicked state and looked around in fear.

"What is she here!?" I turned around quickly, but there was nothing there. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"When I wa... was flying around up, gulp, there, I noticed we were close to Ponyville." he stuttered.

"And...?" I leaned in closer.

"And this isn't the Whitetail woods, Shrink," Dex said with me finally understanding.

My ears dropped to my head as I figured out where we were and why Dex was so afraid.

"We... We're in the Everfree!" I yelled fearfully, "Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"I did! You were in la-la land at the time," Dex retorted.

"Sorry, well, what do we do now?" I asked.

"If this really is the Everfree, we have to leave, Now." Dex said.

I stated, "I didn't see where we are like you did, which way is Ponyville? Maybe somepony there can help us?"

"Um, let me think... Yeah! It's that way!" Dex pointed his hoof a left area over my head.

"Let's get going then," I said starting to walk in the direction Dex pointed at.

"Hey! Wait up!" Dex took off.

_Everfree Forest_

_A while later_

"Common Dex! We're not going to get anywhere at this pace!" I yelled back. Dex had been lagging behind for a long time now.

"Hey, pant, I'm not, pant, used to walking this far. Or climbing, or hiking, or walking in general." said Dex.

"How are you so out of shape, but I'm not? We stayed in the hospital for the same amount of time, and you even moved around more!" I gloated.

"Screw you, I had to carry your sorry ass down to the ground from like five thousand feet in the air," he said clearly irritated

I winced from that. "Don't get angry, do you want me to return the favor and carry _your_ sorry ass? I asked sarcastically.

"That would help," Dex said.

I mumbled quietly, "Awesome."

A while later, it was still night, and I was still carrying Dex through a forest. I was surprised to hear how exhausted Dex was. I could hear his breathing from where I was holding him, and it sounded strained. "Dex, did something happen up there that I don't know about? You seem like you're in pain," I asked him.

"No it's fine. Let's just keep going." Dex said hurriedly.

I heard his tone, "That doesn't sound fine to me... Are you sure? You can tell me if something did, I wouldn't mind."

He coughed violently causing me to get worried. "Dex, what's wrong?" I asked again.

"I got kicked by somepony while everypony was running around," he groaned.

"Well why didn't you tell me!" I set Dex down and began to check him out. "Dude! You have at least three broken ribs!" I yelled shocked.

"It's fine! I didn't want to worry you. I can keep going." Dex stood up shakily and continued walking.

"DeEx!" I yelled with my voice cracking.

I paused, "Whoa, that was a big one..."

"Please don't make me laugh, it will hurt," he said snickering.

I put on my best annoyed face and walked over to him. "You're not walking," I told him straight to his face.

Dex stopped, "Well how are you going to stop me?"

I merely lowered my head underneath his stomach and gently lifted him up onto my back.

"Hey!" he coughed and wiggled around.

I bounced him twice and he stopped struggling.

"Ugh," Dex admitted defeat, "Thank you..."

I told him caringly, "You're welcome. Nothing you can say or do would bother me." I paused for a second, "Except for sticking your saliva touch directly in my ear."

"You're still on that? That was like three months ago when we were still in the hospital," Dex laughed. "Ow, I told you not to make me laugh," said Dex balling up holding his chest.

I switched the topic, "I wonder why the sun hasn't risen yet, it's been hours..."

"Well, first off there's no one there to raise it because Princess Celestia is somewhere else, and secondly, I'm pretty sure Nightmare won't," he said.

"Sorry, I need to stop for a bit, you're heavier than Starlight sometimes," I grunted.

"If I was heavier than her, you would probably be dead by now cause I don't think I can get up at the moment," Dex stated.

"Yeah, we're in a pretty big pickle aren't we," I said laughing.

"No, if we were in a pickle, I'd eat us out, like in that jar of peanut butter a few years ago,"

"I'm surprised you could move after eating that much. I was sick for days afterwards, but you were perfectly fine," I laughed harder.

Dex continued, "No jar of peanut butter can contain me! With or without added fiber!"

"Dex stop! It hurts!" I yelled laughing.

He shook his head around and pretend to stuff his face with great globs of something.

"You should have seen the look on her face when she remembered where she left us, but _you_ were too busy getting fatter down inside the jar," I said with a big sigh.

Dex sat down a small ways away from me with a face I couldn't read.

"Dex?" I asked.

"Hey Shrink, what are we sitting on? It feels different," he asked.

I checked behind me to see a large, semi-ruined castle. "Woah, how did we miss that?"

Dex turned his head back to see what I was talking about then also looked surprised.

"Oh, cool," Dex said.

I replied, "Oh, cool? That's all after seeing this?"

"Well," Dex started, " It doesn't really help us that much. It's sorta just, there..."

"Common Dex, we've always wanted to be explorers! It's a giant castle in a mysterious forest!" I said excitedly like a little school-filly.

"I don't know if I can," Dex replied reminding me of his broken ribs.

I said dumbly, "Oh, right... I'll just have to do this then."

I picked him up from the ground causing him to yell in surprise.

"If you carrying me is the "this" you mentioned, it worked," said Dex.

"Let's go!" I said happily, neither of us had an idea what was about to happen.

We walked inside the structure to find to find a large, crumbling, stone brick chamber with a pedestal containing several weird statue objects attached to the center. There were five, small spheres with some type of symbols on them, but at the very center was a large sphere with a star carved into the surface.

"What are those?" I asked Dex.

"What are what? I can only see where you turn me," he replied.

"Those," I said turning Dex so that he could see.

"Ah, I dunna bra, I dunna," Dex said as clueless as I was.

"Em surry sir, ah cannut understend yer akcent," I said making fun of Dex's voice.

Loud hoof steps and voices appeared in a room lower in the castle. "Somepony lives here! Hide!" Dex yelled at me. I stumbled around looking for a good place and finally decided on a dark hole in the wall just our size. We were half way there when there was a flash of light right behind us.

I ran harder, but it's hard while carrying something, let alone somepony you know? Dex and I had made it to the hidey hole in the wall with no problem however; no things thrown at us, nothing.

I whispered to Dex, "I don't think they saw us." I was about to say something else, but dark fog filled the room and cut me off, bellowing an evil laugh. Our eyes widened when we heard the frequency of the voice, for we had heard it once before tonight. Nightmare Moon was back once more, and possibly looking for us. I peered out of the shadows to see two pairs of purple hooves challenging the Nightmare.

Maybe she wasn't coming for us at all.

I zoned back in as there were more bright flashes in the room. Nightmare Moon was now standing in the center of the chamber looking confused, while the other pony was missing. I saw the purple pony reappear near the pedestal thing in the center and start messing with the symbol orbs. She tried to do something with her magic, but apparently failed because I saw nothing happen.

She was heart broken, but then Nightmare Moon stepped up near her. My fear returned as she laughed maniacally, towering over the other pony. She smashed the six orbs with her hooves, sending the purple unicorn flying away, helpless. I wanted to run out and help, but Dex kept me from leaving.

"You little foal! Thinking you could defeat _me_? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The _night_ will last _forever_!" Nightmare Moon yelled triumphantly. I squirmed out of Dex's grip to go help in anyway I could, but as soon as I stepped out, I was nearly crushed as five more sets of hooves ran by. I fell back into Dex's forehooves feeling stunned while more action happened outside.

"Good Celestia! Are you crazy! You'll be killed!" Dex yelled at me.

We both were snapped out of our conversation as a brilliant, rainbow light filled the area.

We poked our heads out in awe to see what was going on. The six ponies; one light yellow, one orangish, one pink, one white, one a light cyan, and finally the purple unicorn from before were giving off the light. I was surprised again to see Nightmare Moon was scared by them, but then she started charging up her magic, preparing to strike. I realized, Nightmare would finish powering before the other group of ponies!

I knew what I must do. "Sorry Dex," I yelled while running out to apprehend the wicked pony.

"Wait! Shrink No!" Dex cried dismayed.

I began tracing my route. I climbed up the tail of the pink pony through a bunch of tangles, jumped across to the yellow pegasus's mane, climbed up that too, jumped onto the head of the purple unicorn (who was now wearing a crown), and finally, leaped straight onto Nightmare Moon's face.

She was startled out of her trance at my sudden appearance and stopped her magic.

"You!" she said with venom, "You little pest! Look what you did!" I fell to the ground looking up at an enraged Nightmare Moon.

The group of ponies fired their magic beam before she could do anything to me.

"No! NOOO!" Nightmare yelled, and then got hit, fully immersing her in a wave of rainbow magic. Dex was now by my side, watching the scene unfold just as stunned as I was.

The swirl burst leaving only a smaller, less evil looking alicorn on the ground. We cheered as the group slowly slid down from their places in the air and lost their concentration.

They also cheered and happily danced around, but for some reason they didn't notice us. The group of mares continued to chat in glee and check themselves out, unaware we just saved them.

The orange pony spoke loudly to the purple one,"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship." A flash indicated another pony had joined the party and I turned around. Princess Celestia had returned!

"Indeed you do," she said smiling warmly.

"Princess Celestia!" the purple one gasped beginning to bow. The rest of the group bowed in return to the arrival of the regal pony.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it. It seems I should congratulate you eight," she said clearly pleased.

"But... you told me it was all an old pony tale, wait, eight? There are only six of us," the purple pony said confused.

Princess Celestia seemed surprised by the pony's statement. "What about the two ponies right in front of you! The ones that stopped my sister from blasting you with her magic?"

She asked slowly looking puzzled, "Sister?"

Princess Celestia was shrugged, "Size does not change if we are ponies or not Twilight."

The pony now known as Twilight still looked deep in thought. The princess walked over to us and crouched down in front, showing her student and the others Dex and I. I felt myself get nervous, everypony was looking me with eyes that relayed surprise and curiosity. Wasn't the first time those emotions got me in trouble.

"Whoa, cool! They're all tiny! The cyan Pegasus exclaimed.

"Interesting, Princess, what are they? I've never read anything about them before," Twilight asked.

Celestia seemed shocked her most faithful student would ask such a question when the answer was obvious. "They are ponies just like you and I Twilight. I'm surprised you think just because they're small, they're different," The Princess said.

"Sorry your highness," Twilight told the Princess with her head hanging low.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Celestia replied smiling slightly.

The pink pony bounced up before she could , however, smiling like a maniac. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! What are your names? Why are you so small and tiny and stuff? Huh? Huh? Do small ponies like you have a taste? I bet you do! Do you taste like anything good? CAN I taste you? Uuuuuuh! I bet you taste like cupcakes! You still haven't answered my first question silly!" She bounced.

She did all of this in one breath without pausing for even a second. I decided right then I was more scared of her than I was of Nightmare Moon.

"Pinkie!" Twilight yelled putting her good in her mouth.

"Mphm!" Pinkie Pie grunted still talking.

I squeaked out to Twilight, "Thank you..." I checked on Dex to see he had to the same type of face as I did.

Twilight started to apologize, "Sorry, I just thought that..." At the end of her apology she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"It's fine, really. Ponies have done a lot worse than not seeing us," I said. I heard a quiet

moan coming from behind me. I turned to see Dex was on the ground wiggling.

"Dex! What's wrong, did you get hurt more?" I said galloping across the floor to stand him.

His response was to moan again. "Oh, nothing. I did just sprint over here with my broken ribs to prevent you from getting killed by a giant, evil alicorn who was powerful enough to defeat Princess Celestia herself."

I smiled and picked him up on my back like before, "Good, and I thought something was wrong."

"I hate you sometimes," replied Dex.

"Is there something that happened to Dex?" Princess Celestia asked with a hint of worry.

"Right. Dex was kicked by somepony and broke some ribs." I said. Upon hearing this, the group of ponies looked horror-struck and guilty because they thought they were the ones that did it. I noticed my mistake and stammered to correct it, "No! No, sorry! It wasn't any of you, it was when the princess got foal napped!"

They collectively let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.

Princess Celestia looked slightly offended, "I was not foal napped! I... I wasn't foal napped.

That's beside the point. Twilight, I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not fully unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well." She turned gracefully around to the small alicorn behind her, "Princess Luna!"

The small alicorn gasped in fear and curled into a ball, quivering. She looked so helpless laying there. For some reason, I actually felt kinda... _bad._

Princess Celestia walked over to her and said gently, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. It is time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."

The entire group of ponies, excluding Twilight and I, exclaimed shocked, "Sister!?"

"But? Why are you surprised? She already said that!" I tried to inform them, but was ignored.

Princess Luna looked up at her sister with delayed sadness. "Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked hopefully.

"Woah!" Pinkie Pie said right next to my head, scaring the bejesus out of me and causing me to spaz out.

Princess Luna teared up, "I'm so sorry. I missed you so much big sister!"

"I missed you too," Celestia hugged Luna.

Pinkie Pie now stood next to an unaware Dex with tears in her eyes and a light smile. I grinned in anticipation for what I thought might happen. Thankfully, It did. She honked her nose loudly into a handkerchief she pulled from apparently nowhere and bawled with happiness. I started laughing hard as Dex jumped up like a scared cat and had what looked remotely like a severe seizure.

Pinkie Pie finished her cry and called out, "You know what this calls for? A party!"

Everypony in the room was smiling. Their _Princesses_ were back. Nightmare Moon was gone and everything seemed right, that is, until I noticed Princess Luna staring directly at me.

I was looking around at the others when I noticed. She was sitting by her sister where they had hugged a moment before, just watching me with an expression I couldn't read. The smile faded from my face as she stood up. I grew nervous, but she could just be standing up and stretching. She could not be coming for me, right? My excuses were squashed as she began trotting slowly towards me. I pretended I didn't notice and tried to ignore her. The Elements of Harmony the first Princess described should have blasted all of the evil out of her, so why was she coming closer?

I tried to walk away from her, but she was nimble, and I couldn't go any faster without attracting attention.

Princess Celestia noticed this. "Sister?" she asked slowly. She was upon me now, close enough to pick me up without magic, and that's just what she did. I saw her reaching over for me out of the corner of my eyes, confirming my worst suspicions. Fear filled my heart and my mind triggered an adrenaline rush. I started to run, but it was too late and she blocked my escape. Luna grabbed me in her hooves, preventing me from running away and lifted me into the air.

Princess Celestia was standing now along with everypony else, watching in suspense. I struggled and whimpered, but wiggle as I might, I could not get loose. She looked at me while I sweated, wondering what she would do to me. I couldn't bring myself to glimpse into her eyes, because I was afraid of what I would find.

She wasn't hurting me or anything else bad, just holding, so I ignored my instincts and I began to calm down. After another few seconds, I managed to peek at her face. I found that in her eyes contained not hate, or any reason to hurt me, they were filled with a sadness. Her large, night blue eyes told a story of a hate, the destruction it caused, and the deep remorse for what she had done.

Right then I knew she could never hurt me, so I forgave her.

I hugged as much of her hoof as I could letting her know I understood. She pressed me gently to her chest and started to sob. "I'm so sorry. We are responsible for thine curse. Will thee ever forgive me?"

"It's alright, it doesn't matter, you were a different pony back then. Besides, being small is normal for me. If I was big like you, I don't think I would have as much fun," I comforted her.

She ceased her tears, "But..."

I interrupted, "No buts, I'll be fine."

And so the most dramatic night in probably my entire life concluded with me hugging the New Princess of Equestria. Even though I was the happiest now I had been in years, deep down inside, I knew it couldn't last. Dex and I were still to be separated, and the closer to dawn it got, the less time I had to spend with my sibling.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: HELLO READERS! Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, but an anonymous viewer sent me a private message(PM) whose name I will not disclaim, which led to this being slightly… okay, A LOT, late. After reading this message from this anonymous reader, we had a conversation which was directed towards age issues. The reader tried to guess my age, but was three years young of my actual age. You might not find this offensive (no offense taken message sender), but this signifies that my writing might be a little young for my current age. Challenge accepted, this chapter, I assure you, will be much better punctuated, formated, plotted, and really just better in general.**

**P.S. Revisions might be made to the first few chapters, so keep an eye out for that.**

**Just had to get this out soon or risk losing readers. Anyway, there are many escapades for our two little protagonists to be had, so let's get right into it! Hope you enjoy chapter four of "The Little Ponies"!**

**Chapter 4: Almost Apart From Siblings**

_A comfy bed_

_Very early morning…_

You never truly know what apprehension is until you're feeling it first-hoof. The bad part about this unpleasant emotion is that you can never quite remember the feeling it brings except for when you actually feel it. One second it is looming over your head like a giant, and the next it's gone, silently and patiently waiting for the next best chance to strike its' victim. Unfortunately, being as small as Dex and I, the feeling never really goes away… Not fully at least. The agony of being surrounded by larger ponies who, by the way, have the power to instantly kill and smash you into a pulp if they feel like it, it's not pleasant to live hanging above your mane. Those luckier, not-small ponies, they have the ability to do _anything_ to us and we'd not be able to do _anything_ in return, it's one of the most insidious sensations possible to be experienced.

Mother raised Dex and I to be well behaved and tough, but no amount of good manners or happy attitudes could change some situations. And so here lies my dilemma; tomorrow, I was about to leave the company of probably the only two ponies in Equestria who still cared about me and be handed into the hooves of a complete stranger who I had no idea if I could trust or not. A pretty long and tedious problem if you ask me, but not nearly as lengthy as the night before it was about to happen. If anypony had ever felt true apprehension, I'm pretty sure this was it.

I tried to brush away my troubles to get some rest before the big event, but the monstrous new caretaker I was going to be shipped off to live with lurking just around the corner was too great for me to handle. I zoned in on Dex's shallow breathing. It seemed healthy enough considering the doctor almost broke some more of his ribs trying to do a checkup. Sleeping close to Dex was something I was going to miss; his light snoring helped me deal with all the days troubles. The sound of his soft breathing reaching my ears had a calming effect on me like no other sound could. Ever since we were old enough to actually do anything on our own, mom made us go to bed huddled tight together. Her reasoning was it would make us as noticeable as possible, you know, being in a group in all, but now it made things more painful to go through with.

"Mom…" I whispered out in the night hoping she would answer. I sighed knowing nopony was listening to my plea. With teary eyes, I snuggled closer to Dex and fell into a fitful, restless sleep which in the morning didn't help at all.

_Same place_

_Morning…_

Dex kicking in his slumber woke me up in the morning. There was enough light from dawn to make out his face as he bucked and struggled against an unknown force. I groggily sat up to see what his problem was, but I didn't expect to see what I saw. Dex was crying and whimpering from the night-terror he was experiencing. I blinked into awakeness as quick as a rabbit and hurriedly tried to awake him. If this dream made Dex cry, it must have been a pretty horrible one. I shook him hard around his chest while trying to not damage his ribs, but my actions only seemed to make him struggle harder. Seeing my rustling his feathers, no pun intended, had no effect, I attempted a different tactic. I grinned as I remembered his favorite, sleep-disrupting method he uses on me from time to time.

I licked my hoof and snickered under my breath in preparation for his own dirty trick, but this time around, it was going to be used on the owner. I stuck my now dripping hoof into his ear for a few seconds, rubbing it around to maximize the effect. The only problem was, well, there was no effect. He continued struggling across the spring bed we were set upon with no intent of stopping.

I was shocked. "What?" I exclaimed quietly watching my ploy fail. By some unknown force, my voice was amplified enough to startle him out of his plagued slumber.

Dex shot up with an audible gasp, wide eyes, and cold sweat pouring out of his face onto the comfy mattress with the gooey residue of tears still residing in streams on his dark brown checks. He took that deep intake of breath like he hadn't been breathing for hours and frantically scanned the room for any kind of danger. As I was watching his eyes dart from side to side, I noticed he didn't seem like he had calmed down from waking from his horrorful ordeal. Dex's eyes fell on me observing him a good five of my steps away. He recovered enough to stand and began running towards me at full speed.

I didn't even have seconds to react as his sudden movement towards me reached its climax and sent him barreling into my chest exactly like a hoof-ball player would. The air rushed out of my lungs in one great burst leaving me helpless as I tried to catch my escaped breath. Landing on my back with Dex piled on top of me, I couldn't imagine what had drove him to such extremes. Wondering what this was all about, I attempted to look down but was unsuccessful.

Dex wet my chest with his newly reopened tears. "I don't want you to leave Shrink! It's not fair!" he yelled out burying his sniffles in my lighter brown fur. My heart melted seeing Dex reduced to such an unstable state and filled with feeble, pointless anger towards the pony who was making us separate.

As if one cue, Princess Celestia opened the large, maple door to the room we were in. The doorway shined with a golden light as she trotted gracefully in, but even I couldn't stay mad at the Princess for long. I knew she still cared about us, even if she had to split us apart inside.

She looked at us with a traces of regret hidden in the contours of her face. Feeling guilty for what she was about to do. Princess Celestia tried to keep her calm demeanor as she spoke, "Are you ready?"

A simple question to ask, but never to answer. Dex sat up and wiped the water from his eyes with his right hoof. Expectantly waiting, he looked at straight into my eyes signifying he wanted me to answer. My mind fluttered from Dex asking me to decide such an important choice, but eventually, like a small, reluctant colt forced to ride on his first roller-coaster, I gulped and unwillingly agreed to Princess Celestia's terms. She nodded slightly, happy that we acquiesced and started charging her long, white horn. Enveloping Dex and I in a golden veil of power, she began to lift us into the air using her magic and brought us closer to herself. I absolutely _hated _the feeling of being carried with magic, it reminded me of how useless I was. I couldn't fly or use magic, I couldn't get a job, I couldn't even travel most places without assistance! Plus it has the addition of a really annoying tingling sensation. You know it's there, but can't do anything about it, you just have to wait it out.

We were plopped down on Princess Celestia's soft, white fur gently, but still a bit rough. Even the gentlest touch was a bit forceful to one this size. She let her magic fade away as we began preparing to depart. I sat on her back enjoying Dex slightly soggy company as we teleported away from the quarters in which we slept, dreading what was about to come.

_A ordinary room_

_Noon…_

A normal room sat in the middle of Ponyville's Golden Oaks Public Library. If a passerby were to glance through one of the clear, bright windows on any other happy, sunny day, they would probably see the purple unicorn who lived inside frantically rushing around looking for books or sitting at a desk organizing her papers and studying. However, unlike any other "happy sunny!" day, something out of the ordinary was planned to happen in this very room. Yellow Flora was walking contently down the street mulling over her day's events so far. Humming quietly and happily as she trekked across the gravelly road, she snuck a glance over to the library in question.

There was nothing different about this gigantic, leafy tree house she could point out from the other days she would stroll by, but today something seemed… odd. Slowly coming to a halt, Yellow Flora noticed a bright flash of white light originating from the opposite side of the tree. She raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "_There have been reports of illegal immigrants from Saddle Arabia located around Ponyville_," she remembered words from the daily newspaper she read earlier, "_Residents in this area should be on the look out for any suspicious activities. Few witness sightings have confirmed six of seven of the immigrants are earth pony and the last being a unicorn. we don't know how powerful this unicorn is, but be aw.._." The rest of the article was how to deal with the situation if it arose and other notes of no importance.

With a feeling of fear and civic duty, Yellow moved closer to the back of the purple unicorn's abode. Instead of finding immigrants behind the tree, what she witnessed was exponentially more curious. Being greeted and welcomed into the unicorn's home like an old friend was Princess Celestia herself. Yellow was still trying to close her agape jaw when she noticed something small or maybe even some small things moving around on the top of the Princess's back, but before she could determine what they were, Princess Celestia stepped inside. She tried to process what she had stumbled upon. The Princess, in Ponyville, meeting the crazy tree librarian? Plus strange, small, and alive creatures being held in her custody? What could be going on here?

Rushing quietly trying not to be noticed, she made her way over to one of the library's large, clear windows. As she got there, she captured a glance at five other ponies accompanied by the unicorn and alicorn princess before the blinds were shut in her face. Now Yellow Flora was _really _curious about what was happening inside. She tried to shake her head and forget what she saw as she briskly walked away from the house, but was unable to. Something tells me that Yellow Flora wouldn't be getting rid of this memory anytime soon.

_Inside the room_

_Noon…_

Princess Celestia walked through the doorway to… Twilight I think it was.. Twilight's house. I gaped in awe at the marvels of her house. Twilight's house was in fact, a giant oak tree. Somehow, even though the entire inside of the tree was hollowed out to make room for a pony to live, heck even a family of ponies could live here it was so big, the tree was still green and alive. Some magic I presumed was imbibed in the tree which allowed it to live and grow to such ridiculous heights. Also located on the inside of the house were hundreds if not thousands of crystal clean books! I've always loved books, but I can't seem to get my hooves on them unfortunately. Reading takes me somewhere else, it allows me to become somepony different entirely and I love it. Seeing the mass of books collected and arranged on the shelves in a neat and orderly fashion, I didn't want to leave, but there were more critical matters to attend to.

The six ponies who "harmonized" Nightmare Moon stood in a semicircle around a wooden zebra sculpture desk combo waiting. This was it… I held my breath in anticipation as I waited for something to happen.

**E/N: Or Until the next chapter! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I really wanted to include the next part in the next chapter. Please Comment if you liked this chapter more than the others in style of writing! I might keep it this way if I get a positive response, but I'm warning you! Chapters might take longer to get out! Reviews are friends, not food! Read and Rate, It makes me happy! Bye, see you next chapter! Peace.**

**~Fictionbrony**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi loyal readers and anyone else who sees this first line! Whether it be over the shoulder of another or in your mother's basement, here is Chapter five of the Little Ponies! Really pushed this chapter forward in the past day or so. Wanted it done for all of yous. I got positive reviews on the last chapter (I think...) because it was read slightly more than the others, so I'm going to keep the new style of writing! Exciting isn't it. Yay… Prepare for longer wait times, but if not Yay Me! That means I got my story high in my priorities! I **_**really **_**wanted to get this out early to make up for the month? of no posting. So long I can't remember how long it was. Stop stalling silly ol' me! Enjoy Chapter Five!**

**Chapter 5: Away From Siblings**

_Twilight's Library_

_Resuming at Noon…_

As Dex and I stared at the group of ponies and they stared back at us, we couldn't help but make assumptions. Being tortured by a pony their size over half your life will do that to you… Probably the only reason I'm not a total non-trusting jerk was Dex, and now that that's going away, I don't know how I will fare. I looked over to Dex, searching his face for any reassurance I could find. Dex looked over to me trying to find the same thing, so we both sat on the Princess's back gaining comfort from our mutual company.

The Princess broke the silence in the room, getting everyponys' attention. "Hello my faithful subjects. You're probably wondering why I've called upon each of you. I need a favor." she announced to the group.

Now it was Twilight's turn to speak, "What do you mean Princess? Does it involve the Elements of Harmony?"

"Fortunately not my faithful student, this is on a different matter," she turned to eye us still resting on her soft, white back.

The group followed the Princess's gaze and let them fall upon Dex and I. I could see the curiosity and the confusion from where I was sitting. It was silent for a short while, arousing the feeling of awkwardness in the room.

Wanting to stop the silence as soon as possible, stammered in a very maladroit way, "Um… Hi everypony." Immediately regretting my decision, I scrunched up shyly letting my ears flop to my head. Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed Dex come over to my side and wrap his forelegs around me.

"Shrink," Dex said softly in my ear. I hugged him back absorbing his warmth. Now acknowledging his presence, I felt myself start to untense and relaxed enough for the conversation to continue.

"I would like one of you to possibly… take care of Dex or Shrink. I know that might be a lot to ask of you, but I wouldn't request this unless I was desperate," the Princess urged, "The reason I need one of you six is that Shrink and Dex were abused by their past caretakers. I hoped that you might be better…"

_She had to say Dex "or" Shrink. _I thought feeling crushed inside already. Still holding Dex in our cradle, I looked hopefully at the six ponies assembled in front of us wondering what they were thinking. I'll admit, some of them seemed more enthusiastic than others. The rainbow-maned pegasus was shooting of the walls when she heard the offer. Dramatically raising her hoof into the air like a school filly would, Princess called upon her to answer.

"I could take both of them! I mean... if that's alright with the rest of you," she nearly shouted until seeing her friends annoyed glares. Then she took on a sheepish, more embarrassed stance.

Princess Celestia's heart rate decreased and all of her tension disappeared from underneath Dex and I. "That would be perfect, thank you for your kindness Rainbow Dash." The Princess smiled happily seeing Dex and I would be staying together. Dex and I's hearts nearly blew out of our chests when we heard the bold declaration. Eyes widening and smiles glistening, we hugged each other tightly knowing everything would be alright.

The Princess's brow furrowed as she thought about some obscure, tidbit fact that appeared in her mind. "Wait one second if you would please… something arose in my mind."

My blissful mood faded a bit and was replaced with one of worry. What was she talking about? Everything was perfect! It was better than she could of planned herself!

"Rainbow Dash, you live in a cloud house correct?" the Princess queried.

Rainbow Dash replied confident, "Yep! Born and raised! Why?"

Princess Celestia sighed deeply, "That's what I was afraid of… You may have Dex, but not Shrink."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Dex, some of the other ponies, and I. A feeling of nausea swept over me like a flood and my vision dimmed. I brought my hoof to my forehead experiencing a sadness like never before. Dex was a pegasus, he could stand on clouds. I was not. Such a simple mistake, anypony could have made it. I guess it was better to find out about it here than on the cloud itself, but no matter how much the situation was saved by this realization, nothing could ever cheer me up again.

Rainbow Dash, the pony who was to take Dex away, looked terrible; She probably felt the same way. "Oh, Princess… I can't," she tried to repent her decision, but I wouldn't let her. I had come this far, and I was not giving up.

"No, it's fine, just please don't hurt him…" I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and my nose start to drip.

"But, Shrink…" Dex held out his hoof to me longingly.

"Go with her Dex, I'll be fine." I tried to be strong for him, but my resolve was quickly dissolving

"Shrink" Dex said with a whimper.

"Please… just go…" I could no longer hold in my tears. As they freely flowed out onto the Princess's back, the only thing the other ponies was observe and feel terrible. I tried to sob as quietly as possible, but I didn't think my method was working very well as my cries were still audible. Dex gave me one last big hug, and proceeded to walk towards the edge of Princess Celestia's back. I watched as he took off, wishing he wouldn't leave and knowing that would never happen.

The rainbow pegasus whose name I was too upset to care about outstretched a hoof for Dex to land on. The look on her face I would have found funny any other time, but not now. Expressed on her muzzle was a mixture of extreme guilt and sadness from the tender moment that occurred between the two abnormal brothers. She bit her lip to try and keep herself from crying as a heartbroken Dex set down upon her hoof and laid down, dismayed about the loss of his brother.

The truth was, it wasn't all bad. There was still hope for one of the rest of the ponies could help me out and I'd still be close to Dex. Ponyville isn't that large, I'd see him a lot, right? Turning my head to the group of element bearers still standing in the center of the library, I didn't see what I wanted to see.

The ponies in the center were in no mood to do me any good. The pink pony's hair drooped flat and became a slightly grayish color, the orange pony wouldn't cease staring at her hooves, the white unicorn was bawling her eyes dry in a corner, Twilight was lost in her own sad thoughts. The only pony who looked compassionate towards my predicament was the shy, butter yellow one, but she couldn't find the words to speak up to the Princess. "Will anypony take in Shrink? I know you're all sad, but please find a place in your hearts, he needs it," the Princess asked once more.

There was no answer, but I could tell the yellow pegasus was killing herself trying to get something out. I sweated, this was my last chance to be anywhere close to my brother. I was frightened by the even idea we wouldn't see each other every day. Princess Celestia looked sad herself, "That's alright, we'll be off. Thank you for trying."

"But… Dex… no," I struggled out through my diminishing tears. There was no hope left for me so I collapsed on Celestia's soft back, wishing by some miracle this would have never took place. As the Princess and I prepared to teleport back to Canterlot, a voice rang out through the hall.

"WAIT!" the yellow pegasus burst out surprising everypony in the room, "Oh, um… sorry, but I… could possibly take… um...care of Shrink." Barely managing to say the last part of her sentence, she looked timidly and doubtfully at the Princess and wondering if her outburst was for nothing.

"Thank you Fluttershy, be nice to him, he's the more delicate of the two," Princess Celestia smiled warmly down at her.

Dex cried out from across the room, "YES!" Everypony looked at the tiny, overjoyed pegasus, but he was too happy to care about what they thought.

I smiled the biggest smile I could possibly muster, I was going to be close to Dex! At least I thought we were anyways; we couldn't be close like we used to be, but we would still get to see each other occasionally!

Fluttershy didn't know what to do next, but she approached the Princess with caution thinking that was the right move. I bounded straight to the edge of Princess Celestia's back before springing a giant leap between the two bodies. Landing a bit short of my destination, I began to slide down Fluttershy's side. Fluttershy wasn't as firm as I first thought and I felt gravity taking over. Not knowing what to do, I scrambled for a hoof-hold, but there were none I could reach in time. Falling off her flank, I prepared to land painfully on the ground, but hit something much softer. I opened my eyes to find she had caught me in the middle of her hoof. I glanced up at her face finding her massive eyes scanning everything they could about me.

Blushing lightly, I made an apologetic face for my failed jump attempt. She noticeably smiled back telling me she didn't mind. I hugged her giant hoof and repeatedly said, "Thankyou!Thankyou!Thankyou!Thankyou…"

Princess Celestia cut my gratitude short, however. "It seems someone's eagar. I cannot thank all of you enough for this. I'm sorry I have to leave so soon, there is an affair in Fillydelphia that requires my presence. Dex and Shrink will brush you up on the rules of their care. Thanks once more and before I go, don't let any harm come to them. I've recently found out that they are more precious to me than most everything else." And with those final words, she teleported out of the room to more pressing matters. My heart, I decided, has had it's fill of emotional trauma for one day. As Fluttershy left the room behind all other ponies except Twilight, she had to set me on her back so she could us walk to her home. My new home.

I was exhausted, sleep loss was finally taking it's toll on me and my vision flickered as a result. I wanted to stay awake so I could find out what kind of pony Fluttershy was, and I'm sure she wanted to know a bit about me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my eyes open. I curled up on Fluttershy's back and drifted off into my own dream world, but instead of being the normal, frantic paced crazy dreams I normally had, they were slightly more soothing and colorful. The rhythmic steps Fluttershy took slowly rocked me to rest. Even though Dex wasn't directly by my side, I could still feel him watching over me like I felt I was watching over him.

**E/N: Everything is better now. I tried to resolve the problems that Dex and Shrink were feeling in this chapter, and I feel I did a pretty good job of it too. I wanted this to be an emotional read for this chapter, and I don't know if I accomplished that because the emotions were probably stronger for me to write than for you to read. Seriously, I started crying while writing this which got me some strange looks from the people around me. I take pride in my work just so you know. Over a day to write, but only 7-10 minutes for me to read. Wow… Anyways! Now that you've Read, please Rate! Normally I would put Read and Rate, but the reading has already been done if you're at the endnote. Lost track of my thoughts again, hope you enjoyed! Peace. /)*(Place your brohoof here\**

**~Fictionbrony**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Welcome readers! Welcome! And before I begin, YESSSSS! Season five is now out and you know what that means! I get to complain about the purple mare named Starlight who is just like the one in my story... Luckily my Starlight is not a unicorn(or is she?) Yeah, just checked the crevices of my mind, she's not an unicorn. For some reason 'an unicorn' doesn't sound quite right to me, but I know it's technically grammatically correct. Plz help... Oh wait, 'an' is only used with a vowel sound. I'm learning so much! Woo! Greatest chapter to write so far because we are finally out of the info dump of a beginning and into normal storylining! Enough Said, here is chapter six of the Little Ponies!**

**Chapter 6: Unneeded Drama**

_Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Some random time..._

As my drowsy eyes fluttered open, I calmly and slowly smiled snuggling deeper into the warm fabric I was placed upon by Fluttershy; My new caretaker. As I groggily sat up and stretched my aching muscles, the first thing I thought about was how nice Fluttershy was to leave me on something so soft, but after observing my surroundings, my mind wandered to other thoughts. Where am I?

My eyes shot open and my sleepy composition faded as I frantically scanned the room looking for any familiar landmarks. Being high enough to see out a window from my current position, I was able to deduce we were located near a forests edge and a far, far ways away from Ponyville.

My hearts recently peaceful beats were now turned to forceful throbs as I realized I had no idea who Fluttershy even was and had no way to contact anypony if her kind aura proved false. What am I doing here!? My chest contracted while I looked for ways to escape. I mumbled under my breath, "Oh this is bad... This is really _really_ bad..."

I heard the quiet thumps and creaks of somepony's hoof falls incoming from up top a set of stairs on the far side of the room. My brain bucked into overdrive. I stood up and jogged in place swinging my head back and forth looking for any means to escape. Finally after what seemed like hours of searching, I spotted an ajar window next to a easily climbable looking desk sitting only a close distance across the floor.

Not really thinking what I was doing, I jumped off my makeshift fabric bed onto the wooden floorboards and tried my luck at getting away. My plan at the moment was to escape, find Dex, and then live like hermits in a small burrow somewhere until we were found or died. Details not important, right now was only stage one. After touching down on the floor, I ran as fast as I could towards the window. I was so close! The desk was in sight! I could make it! That is, if the hoof steps didn't start to descend the stairs. As the thumps of a quickly approaching pony grew louder and louder, I ran faster and faster to get away unnoticed. In retrospect, maybe I ran a bit too fast... I had almost made it to the first leg of the desk when suddenly, my hooves gave out from underneath me. I tumbled to a halt, laying on the ground in a stupor, fear growing in my mind as I prepared for my punishment. It was too late to pass unseen, so I didn't even try to stand.

I glanced upwards in defeat just as Fluttershy's giant head passed through the stairway, surrounded by animals of all sizes and kinds. As she smiled and talked with her animal friends, all doubt of her being cruel or abusive flew out the window I tried to escape from just seconds before. A grin grew across my face as the wind blew her mane to the side, revealing her kind smile and facial features. I think she actually looked kinda... Cute...

Most of the animals surrounding Fluttershy's hooves scattered leaving the floor in her path empty, except for me, still smiling dumbly in awe at the giantess.

She trotted forward some more, distracted by a few birds that remained hovering over her head which in turn distracted me as well. Looking straight up her body now began to cover my vision, but she was getting a bit too close for my comfort. A shadow arranged itself over my head and exponentially grew in size. My mind went to the ironics before anything else; The first nice caretaker I've ever had is now going to unawarely kill me...

I gasped and tried to jump to the side, but it was too late; the hoof thundered down on top of me. She slowly stepped down, fully covering me with the warm and fuzzy end of her foreleg, but not entirely squishing me. After the initial, partial step, I was, of course, pinned thoroughly to the floor. The sliver of light by the edges of her hoof decreased around me until it was no more, then it stopped. I was being crushed slowly, I could feel my bones being pressed against the hard ground, but to my luck and confusion, the hoof didn't fully come down. It let up a small bit allowing an even smaller amount of light to leak through the crack between the ground.

My heart filled with hope! She noticed me! I'm not going to die! Not quite. She tested the substance beneath her hoof pressing down lightly twice to see if it would move or make a sound, and it didn't. Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders and stepped down.

As I resided under her hoof, fearing for my life, I felt her press against me twice, and then her hoof began to descend. Absolute horror filled my heart as the light vanished once more and the hoof pushed downwards more forcefully.

I screamed under the mass falling upon me but fell on deaf ears, "No... No! NO! HELP ME! PLEASE DON'T! STOP!" My bones creaked and groaned under the extreme pressure and I myself felt ready to pop. I had reached the very threshold where things would start smushing if things progressed, but the hoof halted its progress once more, unsure if it was okay to set down or not. This time, I took the opportunity.

"HELP! DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could through several layers of flesh, but I'd be lucky if the only thing they heard on the other side was a muffled "mmmpphhfff!". I guess I'm the lucky one, she heard me. The hoof flew off of me faster than it was set down which caused a burst of cold, outside air to rush in around me. I gasped in the fresh air wondering how she even felt me in the first place

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I didn't see you there!" Fluttershy remorsefully. She crouched down and began to inspect my body.

" Ahg, um… Yeah, I'm fine. At least I'm pretty sure. What are you, oh um…" I said startled, being interrupted as Fluttershy flipped me over with her nose. "I'm fine really… " she continued lifting various limbs and looking closely. "Um, please stop."

She lifted me slightly off the floor to test something and then gingerly set me down, not fully satisfied with her examination. Fluttershy sat on her floor, and soon after laid down around me. Once she got comfortable, she began to speak. "I'm sorry..." she apologized looking down at the ground in front of her hooves.

I stood up and arched my back, popping some of my bones back into place. "It's fine, you didn't hurt me. I was just... Surprised by it." I walked into her field of vision and looked up at her eyes.

Fluttershy bit her lip then diverted them away from looking at me. I'm no psychic, but I could tell she was pretty upset from this whole ordeal. " Please don't feel bad, it was an accident," I comforted. I sighed, "I wish getting stepped on was one of the worst things that have happened to me."

Fluttershy said with a sniffle, "What do you mean? What could be worse than getting crushed?"

I looked down at the ground sadly, "I would rather not talk about it, if that's okay with you."

"Oh, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't know," Fluttershy apologized and then looked shyly at the ground once more.

"Don't be, like you said, you didn't know..." I walked over to her outstretched foreleg and climbed ungracefully onto her hoof. There was a pause in the conversation lasting for a minute or two effort Fluttershy broke the silence.

"Hi, I'm um... I'm... Fluttershy," she slowly introduced herself.

I smiled seeing her become less sorrowful, and then said, "Hi Fluttershy, I'm Shrinking Thunder, but you can call me Shrink."

The silence returned for a few seconds. "Are... Are you certain you're not hurt? I'm really sorry," Fluttershy asked guiltily.

I smiled and said while looking myself over, "Yes, I'm pretty darn certain I'm

fine." She lifted her other hoof which was sprawled across the floor and brought it close to my head. I flooded with fear once more and recoiled as far away as I could. "What are you doing?" I hurriedly asked.

Seeing her hoof raise to my head, Fluttershy slightly blushed, "Oh sorry, it's a nervous habit. I, I'll stop..."

Her hoof started to fall back from where it came. "Wait! Um, well what were you going to do?" I asked her.

"It was nothing, I um..." She paused seeing me looking at her with curiosity, "I, I, was going to, um, _pet _you like one of my animal friends."

I mulled over the possibly in my mind and came to a decision. "You could, um, _pet _me if you wanted to, I guess," I said sheepishly.

"Really?" Fluttershy asked shyly.

"Uhh, sure..." I responded with a cheesy smile. She giggled and raised her hoof once more. I sat nervously watching her sole come closer and closer and then finally brush up against my back. The feeling wasn't all that pleasant, but I wouldn't say it was a bad experience either. Really I was being just being bent into awkward shapes molded by her hooves, but she seemed happier petting me than when she wasn't, so I rubbed myself against her hoof, bending my back just like a cat would. Honestly, I actually started to enjoy myself. I've never really had this kind of affection before, and I loved it. Her gentle strokes with her hoof nearly made me forget about... Dex...

I began looking distantly at the far wall thinking dejectedly. My sudden change in attitude must have been pretty noticeable. Fluttershy worriedly asked me, "Shrink, is everything alright? I'm not hurting you am I?"

Her speech brought me out of my head, "Hmm? Oh, sorry. I zoned out."

"Shrink, what's wrong?" She questioned gently.

I looked nervously up at her. "I, uh..." I stuttered. I sighed and hung my head low, "I miss Dex... I don't mean to sound ungrateful, because I am grateful that you would take care of me, but I've never gone more than a couple of days without him. He's always been there and... you never really know what you've had until it's gone..."

Fluttershy tenderly rubbed my spine, "Don't you worry, Dex is with my friend Rainbow Dash, and I'm sure she will take great care of him. You two will be able to visit a whole lot."

Even though it wasn't much, her words did make me feel better.

"Thanks Fluttershy," I breathed out deeply as I began to relax once more.

She beamed down at me already moving past today's earlier events, "Such a polite little colt." She yawned showing me the insides of her gaping maw. I cringed in fear wondering if I was going to be pushed in and disappear forever, but instead she apologized.

"Sorry, I got up earlier than normal today so I could be at Twilight's by noon. You were so tired after you fell asleep on my back and slept all the rest of the day," Fluttershy explained.

I confusedly asked, "All day? What time is it?"

She responded in a tired voice, "It's around sunset, so I should go get ready for bed." A thought popped into her mind, " Oh dear, I haven't gotten you a bed yet... Hmm, don't worry, you can sleep with me tonight."

I nearly choked, "Wa, what? No no! You don't have to do that! The thing I was on before was great! You don't need to..."

She waited until I was finished with my little rant and responded softly, "Sorry, but that was Angel's bed and he _really _would like it back. He was against you sleeping in it even during the day."

"But what happens if you roll over? Not being able to move would be the absolute best of circumstances!" I wormed.

Fluttershy waited once more until I was finished and said, "I'm used to sharing my bed because of all my animals. I've gotten used to not rolling over. It'll be fine."

"But..." I began, but she insisted.

"No buts, but I will get you a bed as soon as I can," Fluttershy concluded. She trotted over to me and bent over. The only thing I could

see was her mouth opening and fast approaching. I jumped and tried to escape, but she was too fast. She chomped on my tail and hoisted me into the air.

I let out a squeak in surprise and started to struggle. "Fluttershy! I'm sorry! I'll sleep in your bed if you want me too, just please don't hurt me!" I shouted terrified. I shut my eyes tight and tried to curl into a ball but was unable to do so as I was dangling in the air.

Fluttershy was going to set me on her back when she realized how terrified I was by her simple action. She quickly moved me through the air and set me gently to rest on her spine. By now I was shivering in fear curled into a little ball on her back so Fluttershy tried to calm me down.

"Shrink. It's alright. Shrink look at me, I would never hurt you on purpose, you can trust me."

I looked around getting back my bearings, "I... I'm sorry, past experiences don't just vanish overnight." She seemed heartbroken from just the premise that somepony would abuse something so little and helpless.

"Just tell me if you don't like something I'm doing to you and I'll stop, I don't want to scare you," Fluttershy comforted.

I slowly un-scrunched from my defensive position, "You promise?"

"I promise."

And with those words the conversation ended.

**E/N Well! It's certainly been awhile! Sorry for the long wait, but I just had so much to do! Whenever I tried to write some more of the story, something either came up or someone asked for my help with something. You can tell how long this has been in progress from the first note because it's complaining about season five episode one (Which, by the way, came out in early April). I'm really trying hard to get these out every week, but I can see that might not happen... (REALLY) One more thing, please review and rate this chapter, some feedback would be helpful. One more thing after that, thank all of you who have reviewed, you're one of the main reasons I keep writing this. But wait? What happened over at Rainbow Dash's house with Dex? You thought this chapter was over didn't you?**

_Rainbow Dash's House_

_Same time as above..._

It was a grand old day in Ponyville with clear skies and not a cloud in sight, all thanks to the weather pegasi team and the careful guidance of a fill-in manager. A gentle breeze blew throughout the summer atmosphere, cooling the spring plants wilting in the heat. The sun was set high in the sky, telling it was maybe sometime after noon. There were couples and singles and families walking the open roads, twisting between buildings and curving along the pavement for a peaceful stroll on the perfect day. There was no reason not to love today; perfect weather, sunshine, even the very atmosphere positively gleamed with the happiness and relaxation of the walking ponies, so why did a familiar looking, cyan Pegasus seem so distressed?

Rainbow Dash hustled to get back to her house disrupting several parties of walkers in the process, for in truth, she wasn't feeling the greatest. She had just finished a fateful meeting with one of her new friends, Twilight Sparkle, and made possibly the most life changing decision of her entire adult life. She had just adopted the care of a shrunken pony. Such thoughts like 'What was I thinking?' and 'I can't even take care of a pet, how can I take care of a _pony?_' whirled around in one part of her brain while the other side thought thoughts like 'Yes! I got one!' and 'How cool is this!? I got a toy sized stallion!'

She stole a glance at the creature on her back and found he was laying down near her rainbow mane, looking depressed and drawing small circles in the fur on her back. And then there was that part... She had just separated him from his brother, his only remaining family, in a very emotionally packed meeting mere seconds before.

Rainbow Dash flooded with guilt as she remembered what she had done to the small pony on her back. She chanced another look. The small pony, Dex she thinks he is called, was seemingly unaffected by her flying and still circling his hoof around her fur. Dex noticed the halt in movement and looked up to her stare. Rainbow Dash stumbled once realizing she was discovered and averted her eyes back to the ground below her.

She hurried home, not risking any more peeps at Dex. As a result, the small stallion resumed his distractions and paid no attention to the mare's previous gaze. Once they had gotten to the house in the sky, Rainbow Dash unlocked the front door and quickly flew inside.

A collection of assorted Wonderbolts posters and trophies of all shapes and sizes hung and sat on or near the many walls lining the house's inside. In another room, there was a large, blue bed which was currently unmade and messy like the rest of the room and, I might add, along with quite a few more posters and trophies. The white cloud walls made the colors of the furniture inside stand out greatly, and so the house of the Pegasus had a vibrant and energetic feel to it.

Rainbow Dash flew over to her oddly colored couch and hesitated before sitting down. She barely remembered in time that she had a living creature on her back and probably shouldn't throw herself violently onto the couch. Carefully, she twisted enough so that she could grab the now attentive pony resting on her back, and that's just what she did.

Dex and the rainbow mare flew into what seemed to be her house, so Dex started to pay slightly more attention. As the large, cloud door owned inwards and the initial draft of air leaked out, he was utterly stunned by the openness and freedom of her design. Sure there was lots of clutter, but her house was big enough it didn't change how the rooms appeared.

Dex felt the mare he was with flap over to her couch and start to drop. He was wondering if he should remind her he was there, but he didn't have too. She turned around and nabbed him off her back, lightly tossing him onto the bumpy surface below. Dex was caught unaware by this sudden movement and squirmed around before he was let go.

"Well, this is it," Rainbow Dash started, "Not much, but I can get along."

Dex gaped at her getting up from where he landed, "Not much? This is _huge _compared to what I'm used to! You probably have three times the amount of space Star..."

He trailed off looking distressed.

The rainbow pony asked, "Who?

Dex's normally dark brown face turned white, this was not going the way he hoped. "She was uhh... Shrink and my previous caretaker. I don't want to talk about it."

Rainbow Dash noticed she brushed up against a sore subject for the little pony and quickly tried to change topics. "Oh, sorry. Don't worry, she can't get to you up here! Probably... So, how did you get all... like that?" She asked pointing a hoof towards Dex's stature.

He stood up and flew onto the mare's cyan furred belly causing her to wiggle from being tickled. "This?" He directed towards his height, "Short?"

Rainbow Dash just couldn't seem stop hitting sore subjects. She very stumbly tried to apologize, "Geez, I'm on a bad streak. Um, sorry again about that..."

"No, don't be. It's not that abnormal of a question to ask. I'll tell you. When Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon about a thousand years ago, she uh... turned evil and uh..." Dex seemed at a loss of words, but Rainbow Dash helped him out.

"Cursed?"

"Yeah, she cursed my very great grandpony and the rest of my family so we became... smaller," Dex struggled clearly being affected by the conversation. "After that she hmm... killed about ten of us, including my very great grandpony, until Princess Celestia stopped her from smashing all of us, but the battle killed around four more and, lots of gorey details.

Rainbow Dash looked sick to her stomach at just the thought of being smushed beneath somepony's hoof and looked to Dex with sympathy. "Yada yada, hard times, yada yada, then Princess Celestia founded the caretaker program. All the caretakers were was over qualified babysitters. Each caretaker would own one or two small ponies and each new foal would be passed down the caretaker's family. Our case was special though, because after a thousand years some caretaking families names died out, so we were passed to... " Dex gulped, "Starlight's family, and that's about it."

Rainbow Dash was intrigued about his such large and unknown history. "How many of you are there left?"

"Just Shrink and I. Last two. Hurray..." Dex responded dimly.

The questions kept flowing, "So, why do you need another caretaker? Isn't that Starlight still around?"

Dex grimaced and sank onto his chest, not wanting to answer, "I would really appreciate it if we didn't talk about it. Please?"

She noticed her mistake, "Whoops, sorry... You seem pretty cool being that small, why is that? Isn't it hard?"

Dex sighed and answered her question, "At times it's hard, but I sorta like it. There's an adventure in everything you know. Plus I get to lay on anypony I want and they don't complain." He nuzzled into her fuzz while she giggled at his statement.

"I like you, you're funny," she said.

"Thanks, you're alright too. I needed somepony who doesn't take offense at everything."

She asked, "Starlight?"

Dex chuckled, "Shrink too, but he was nicer to be around than Starlight." He stared off into the distance pondering what was on his mind. Rainbow Dash saw his distress and asked him what it was about.

"Hmm? Oh sorry, just... Shrink..." He trailed off for a few seconds before asking Rainbow Dash a question, "Hey Dash, do you think I'll get to see Shrink at all? I miss him already, I've never really gone without him for a long period of time before..."

She smiled seeing him open up to her, "All the time, we can probably see him once or twice per day, and if we can't, now you got me." She brought her forelegs over his body and gave Dex a light squeeze. He didn't complain, but rather hugged back burying his face in her fur. The two sat on the couch in the same position for a while longer until Rainbow Dash felt the tell tale signs of a very small snore. She "daww'd" at the sight of the cute little stallion and fell blissfully asleep with him.

**E/N And... Done! Whew! Tried to make the second half of the chapter enjoyable if you could even make it that far. Reveiw if the fake end note got you! Until next time and hopefully sooner!**

**~Fictionbrony**


	7. Chapter 7

a

**A/N** **Welcome back readers! It's been a great few weeks of typing, so here is a great few minutes of chapter (in my opinion at least). Not much to say other than "Here you go!", so... here you go. Didn't know what you were expecting. Sorry for the long wait times, but soon there will be more to read and to enjoy; Summer is approaching! And then I will be bored and have nothing better to do, so yay.**

**Chapter 7: Definitely Not Perfect **

_Fluttershy's Bedroom _

_Night…_

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea Fluttershy..." I expressed my concerns as she placed me softly on her pillow.

"It'll be fine. I won't hurt you, I promise," Fluttershy soothed me for the fourth time that night. Even though I was being stubborn, she showed no signs of tiring from my constant pestering. "If you go to sleep, you will feel better in the morning," she told me as she covered me with a thick layer of blankets.

I nearly choked as I struggled to the top layer of the thick sheets made from various materials.

I gasped in the air now being free of my cushy confinement. "Oh, I don't need any blankets Fluttershy. Thank you though," I tried to tell her as she approached carrying an even bigger pile of covers.

She seemed confused. "Huh? Why? Won't you get cold without any blankets?" Fluttershy queried.

I hesitated to explain, "When my mom was still alive," I paused as Fluttershy gasped, then continued, "she told me to never use sheets because they were 'dangerous', and I was a good, mindless little colt at the time, so I listened. Besides, I had Dex to sleep next to, so I was never really that cold. I guess after she... passed, I never started using them."

Fluttershy took the sheets off me right away. "I'm sorry! I didn't know..." Fluttershy responded with guilt in her expression and whipped around the room frantically.

My eyes widened, I didn't know she would react so severely! "No! No, it's fine! I didn't care that much except for when you covered my head!"

Fluttershy continued to apologize, "I'm really, really sorry..." She wouldn't calm herself down enough for me to talk to her clearly. Knowing what I had to do, I stood up and jumped down off her pillow. Now reaching the end of the bed, I had a clear leap onto her back. I effortlessly jumped across the gap, reaching the other side safely and efficiently . She jolted as I landed in her mane and started climbing towards her head.

Now on top of her head, I made my way over to her ear. "Fluttershy! It's fine! Calm down, please!" I yelled straight into the depths of her ear. Fluttershy stopped running around not wanting to hurt me by shaking me off.

"Okay, okay, I'm better now... Sorry," Fluttershy said exhausted. I hung onto her ear while she shook out the nervousness from her limbs.

"What was that? You scared me!" I asked gently while rubbing her ear so she wouldn't freak out again.

Fluttershy climbed carefully onto her bed and laid down on her stomach. She covered her eyes with her hooves in shame and shuddered, "I'm so sorry. You've been through so much today, and feel like I'm the one who separated you from Dex and I nearly killed you in the first few minutes of getting to know you, and I just wanted everything to be perfect on your first day living with me, but I can't even tuck you! I can't do anything right!" She sobbed into her bed shaking me down into her mane.

Something wet drenched my right leg, and I realized it was a tear. My heart melted, "Fluttershy..." I asked slowly.

"Mmmn..." She moaned.

"Fluttershy, I'm sorry for making you feel so bad, " she didn't respond," You didn't separate me from Dex, and I almost die every day... Please don't be sad about me, it makes me feel terrible."

After a row tense minutes, Fluttershy slowly stopped crying and began to take deeper breaths. I smiled seeing my words take effect, but my smile was lost as she plucked me from her mane and crushed me against her cheek. I struggled against her force as she gripped harder and harder, pushing the air straight out of my lungs. "I don't ever want to hurt you Shrink, I'm sorry," she whined.

"Fluttershy..." I gasped.

"Yes?"

"You're hurting me..." I squeezed out the last of my breath.

She tensed squashing me even tighter between her cheek and her leg. My vision flickered for a split second, but then she let go allowing me to breath sweet, sweet air. I flopped down on my face and laid there taking in the freshness. "Shrink?" Fluttershy asked worriedly when I didn't get up.

I reluctantly pushed my face of the bed and gave an "all good" signal.

"Umm, are you alright Shrink..." Fluttershy asked snickering at my breathlessness.

"You just... pant... wait! I'll... huff... get you back someday..."

She smiled warmly and scooped me into her hooves. I couldn't stop her from picking me up, but that didn't stop me from limply squirming about. She set me back down where I started off; back on her pillow, except this time leaving out the blankets. She tickled my belly with the tip of her nose and softly said, "Goodnight Shrink. I'll see you in the morning."

I curled up in a ball, taking in the warmth of the pillow, "Fluttershy, I just want to thank you for all this, I mean, taking care of me... I don't know what I would have done without being close to Dex," Fluttershy placed her head down on the pillow and sighed lightly. She fell asleep faster than the time Dex stayed up three days straight trying to catch a cold so we could escape from Starlight (It was a good idea at the time). I smiled at a caretaker for the first time in my life, and drifted slowly into peaceful dreams.

_Later that night..._

I shivered and curled up, trying to conserve what was left of my body heat. "Crap, I should have taken a blanket," I whispered into the night. Fluttershy shifted subtly in her sleep, picking up the faint traces of my voice. "Whoops," I continued not wanting to wake her up. I'll ask for one tomorrow night. I stood up and jogged in place wanting to heat up my freezing limbs, but all I ended up doing was getting myself out of breath.

Fluttershy ear noticeably twitched and then she sat up. He voice rang out in the quiet room, "Shrink, is something wrong?" She reached out with her hoof and set it on top of me. "Shrink, you're ice cold!" Fluttershy said with worry.

My teeth chattered as I stuttered, "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

She gave me a stern gaze, "You don't sound fine to me mister. Here, I can make it better."

"No! No, r... r... really I'm... I... m.. F... Fine..." My mind was so fuzzy I couldn't speak straight, and I also couldn't feel the tips of my hooves... Maybe I did need some assistance.

"Oh, please don't be stubborn. You need help," she said.

I looked up into her sad puppy dog eyes and muttered, "Ok..."

She scooted closer and pushed down on the pillow. I didn't know what she was doing until the surface started to slope downwards and I limply tumbled to her head. My fear returned and I pushed against the side of her chin. "Fluttershy, please tell me what you are going to do first," I wailed.

"You can trust me, just wait," she responded. Fluttershy lifted her head off the pillow and rested her snout over my entire body. I squeaked in fright and tried to escape, but she wouldn't get off.

"Please don't!" I cried breathing heavily from my exertion. She immediately lifted her snout bringing back my chills. I'd rather be cold than dead. "I don't think I'm ready for that just yet," I whined after she released me.

After her initial panic, she released a great mass of air in relief. "I'm sorry, hmm..." She pondered what else she could do to make me warmer. Fluttershy's face lit up as she had an idea. I was immobile from the cold as she picked me up the second time. She set me back down on the pillow now that I was fully immersed in her soft, pink mane.

"Thank you Fluttershy," I snuggled deeper into her hair.

"You're welcome. Good night Shrink..." She smiled.

There were no more complications that night.

_Rainbow's House_

_Beginning of the Night…_

"Rainbow Dash? You're squeezing me kind-of hard…" Dex grunted under Rainbow Dash's leg. Dex had only recently woken up to find himself in the same position he was when he first fell asleep. "Great, she's a heavy sleeper," he thought to himself. Dex struggled, but only got himself buried deeper in her chest. Every incredibly loud snore the rainbow pony gave vibrated poor Dex into having no chance of falling back asleep. He was already sticky with her sweat and stunk like he hadn't bathed in days. Dex frowned and groaned, "It's gonna be a long night…"

**E/N:** **I know, I know. It is kinda short, but I got to do what I have to. Hey, guess what? I only have eight more days of school before summer! (As of 5/23/2015) Get ready for more writing, longer chapters, and for me to finally stop making you wait for weeks on end for each new post. **

**P.S. ** **I know it's unrelated, but I can't wait until I'm 18 so I can become a Staffer at BronyCon. Just one of my many dreams. Also going to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, so many dreams, so little time.**


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